Hey Howdy Hey Tappers!
So Christmas is my favorite holiday/time of the year (in case you didn’t already know). I’m affectionately known in my family as a Griswold because I tend to get a little carried away with the Christmas lights….maybe a little more than Clark….if you could believe anyone gets more carried away than Clark.
But of course, today is November 21st and we’re still more than a month away from Christmas. Heck, Thanksgiving is still two days away. So when is it too early to turn on your Christmas Lights? 
Here in America, for many, it’s a faux pas to turn on your lights prior to Thanksgiving. And in some cases, people won’t even turn their lights on until well into December. (a few exceptions for people who won’t turn them on until Christmas Eve) But that’s real life, and everyone can find a justification for waiting (or not waiting) to turn on their lights.
But what about in our Pocket-Sized Springfields? What’s ok and what’s not ok when it comes to turning on your lights? Is it perfectly acceptable to turn on your lights before Thanksgiving? Heck is it perfectly acceptable to turn your lights on in October? Or are you like Wookiee and just never turn them off?
If you’ve been playing TSTO for as long as I have, 5 years, this will be your 6th Christmas in Springfield. In that time, if you’re like me, you’ve accumulated a LOT of Christmas decorations and LIGHTS! And hopefully, that handy light plunger to toggle them on and off easily…
So when do you turn them on? Do you wait for December 1st? For Thanksgiving to be over? Or Snow on the Ground? (because let’s face it…nothing looks as good as Springfield covered in snow with Christmas lights on)
Or are you like me and already have your lights on in town? I turned the lights in my pocket-sized Springfield on over a week ago. Why?
Because who doesn’t love to see the festive lights all over town?
The Candy Cane Cooling Towers looking so dapper in red and white…
Or the Wiggum house with the Santa falling over….Ralphie must’ve decorated…
The VanHouten’s with their Funzos swaying in the cool air…
The Mansion of Solid Gold…how Lampwick’s house has that little extra twinkle from the Christmas lights…
How cute the Purple House looks with Santa and his Reindeer up on the roof…
How Classic and simple the First Church of Springfield Looks decked out in Angels and baby Jesus…
Don’t mind how Mr. Costington is too big to fit through the doors…
How Sanjay’s House and Apu’s Apartment both look so simple, yet so elegant with their garland windows and few lights..
Only appropriate the Helen Lovejoy would be passing by…to judge.
Can’t help but love the Santa hat touch on Frink’s Lab…and even Willie’s got his shack decked out..
Town Hall has it’s tree up already too…
Even Candy Kevin can’t help but take a stroll through the lights…
And of course, who doesn’t love watching Homer and Flanders duke it out for the tackiest Christmas house on the block?!
Springfield is AWESOME for the holidays! Of course it’s always better with snow So why not turn your lights on early and get into the holiday spirit?
I guarantee no one will groan at you for it, like they will if you put your Christmas tree up this early.
This time of the year can get stressful for many. There’s always one more present to buy, one more gift to wrap, one more card to send, one more trip to the grocery store…always one more. But in our Pocket-Sized Springfields, stress isn’t supposed to get us. It’s supposed to be a stress-free zone.
So turn on your lights and enjoy them! Enjoy strolling around town looking at the details of each decorated house. And enjoy it before the next event hits. Because soon the snow will be falling, the snowpeople will refreeze and then it’ll be too chaotic to enjoy the details! And let’s all hope that EA doesn’t screw it all up this year!
When will you be turning your lights on? Feel free to share some of your holiday designs in the comments below.